Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $63.00 price objective on the pipeline company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $59.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB opened at $43.65 on Wednesday. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $32.85 and a 12 month high of $44.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 0.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 273,806 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,119,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Enbridge during the third quarter worth about $1,216,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Enbridge by 7.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 175,166 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,578,000 after acquiring an additional 12,084 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Enbridge by 0.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 123,012 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,996,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its position in Enbridge by 2.4% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 11,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enbridge Company Profile

Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.